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Toyota Backs Charging Software Startup Amid EV Market Slowdown
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By Yuliya Chernova, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Toyota’s venture arm is backing a startup that helps manage demand from electric-vehicle charging, its first startup investment in a sector facing sagging consumer demand.
Woven Capital, the Japanese automaker’s strategic investment arm, led a $19 million equity investment in WeaveGrid. The San Francisco-based startup also raised $9 million in debt from HSBC Innovation Banking.
“EV adoption has slowed recently, but the industry generally will continue to grow. It’s why we need solutions like this to help reduce friction in the model to scale,” said Nicole LeBlanc, a partner at Woven Capital. The corporate arm was set up in early 2021 with $800 million to deploy in mobility and related sectors.
WeaveGrid’s software integrates directly with cars, as well as EV chargers, to time when the cars are charging after they are connected. The technology allows a consumer to plug a car in at 6 p.m., for example, and start charging later at night. That helps shift load, stabilize the electric grid and save money for consumers, according to WeaveGrid Chief Executive Apoorv Bhargava.
Several existing investors, including Activate Capital, Collab Fund, Edison International, Emerson Collective and Salesforce Ventures, joined Woven in the new financing for WeaveGrid. The startup raised a $35 million Series B round in 2022.
Read the full article.
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And now on to the news...
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Vinted headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania. PHOTO: BERTA TILMANTE FOR WSJ
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How an app selling secondhand clothes went from near collapse to worth $5 billion. Vinted is changing the way millions of people shop and dress, The Wall Street Journal reports. In France and the U.K., its top markets, about one person in four is buying or selling on the Vinted platform. The app has a limited presence in the U.S. but is planning to make a big push there in the coming years.
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Vinted is now valued at 5 billion euros, equivalent to $5.26 billion, following a secondary share sale to investors including U.S. asset manager TPG in October.
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The Baltic startup is challenging the view long held by most fashion brands that the secondhand market is a loss-making sideshow. Many of its customers say they don’t shop anywhere else.
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Omnicom to Acquire Interpublic in Deal That Will Reshape Ad Industry
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Omnicom Group will acquire Interpublic Group in a deal that will create the world’s largest advertising business, the companies confirmed Monday, WSJ reports. A combined entity would have net revenue of more than $20 billion, based on 2023 figures for each company, and include storied ad agencies such as TBWA Worldwide and McCann Worldgroup.
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It is intended to help the combined company better compete with tech behemoths such as Google and Meta Platforms, which have emerged as dominant forces in the advertising business and stand to push even further into Madison Avenue’s territory with the rise of generative AI.
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Bain Capital-Backed Kioxia Sets Offering Price for $800 Million IPO
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Kioxia Holdings priced its $800 million initial public offering as it seeks to raise capital to meet the growing demand for chips used in artificial intelligence and data centers, WSJ reports. The Bain Capital-backed Japanese chip maker announced Monday that it would offer shares at 1,455 yen apiece, equivalent to $9.70, landing in the middle of its previously projected price range. Kioxia plans to issue new shares, while two of its largest shareholders will sell part of their stakes. The stock is scheduled to be debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec. 18.
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People
Deep tech investor Celesta Capital appointed Anand Chandrasekaran as managing partner. He was previously a partner at General Catalyst and president of Crescendo AI.
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Astrix Security, a New York-based nonhuman identity security provider, scored $45 million in Series B financing led by Menlo Ventures.
LambdaTest, a San Francisco-based software quality assurance platform, picked up a $38 million investment led by Avataar Ventures.
Pixxel, a startup building a constellation of hyperspectral earth imaging satellites, added $24 million in Series B funding from investors including Glade Brook Capital Partners, bringing the round total to $60 million. The company has offices in El Segundo, Calif., and India.
Aampe, a San Francisco-based agentic infrastructure startup, collected $18 million in Series A funding led by Theory Ventures.
Ask Sage, a Winchester, Va.-based generative AI platform for the government and commercial sectors, raised $17 million in Series A funding. Sapphire Ventures led the round, with President Jai Das joining the company’s board.
Mainframe, a generative AI assistant provider with offices in San Francisco and Miami, was seeded with a $5.5 million investment co-led by Lachy Groom and Stellation Capital’s Peter Boyce II.
Wald, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of contextual data loss protection for AI platforms, completed a $4 million seed round from investors including Inventus Capital Partners and Entrada Ventures.
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China opened an antitrust investigation into Nvidia, a week after the U.S. placed more export controls on Beijing’s access to high-end semiconductors. PHOTO: CFOTO/ZUMA PRESS
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